More Variety!

As promised, I'm updating my blog in the fall, though it's later in the fall than I planned!

I decided to make a few smaller projects after the larger ones I'd made in the spring and summer, while at the same time trying a few patterns for both baby booties and scrubbies to determine which I liked best. First, I tried 6 different baby bootie patterns.

The pink bootie on the right is going to be my go-to bootie pattern. It works up in one piece, is fun to make and they turned out very nice (these were made with Bernat Cottontots). The blue ones on the left are also cute and fun to make, so it's a pattern I plan to use occasionally.

The white booties, a puff-stitch style, is another pattern I'll use on occasion. I did find that the puff stitches were tricky to complete using a fuzzy yarn, but work fine with smooth yarn like the Patons Astra I ended up using. The blue booties are a bit bulky, but would be good for cooler weather.

I didn't like the two patterns used for these (or the look of the booties) nearly as well as the first four and don't plan to use these patterns again (Astra on the left, Cottontots on the right).

Next, the scrubbies. These are called a Carnation Scrubbie and they do look a bit like a carnation. The one on the left is made with Bernat Handcrafter Scrubbie yarn which has a rough texture designed for scrubbies. The one on the right is Sugar & Cream cotton in "Over The Rainbow".

These are called a Peony Scrubbie. I really like these and they would be ideal to use for a bath scrubbie. I used Sugar & Cream for both.

Here's a third kind of scrubbie, which you can vary the size depending on how many rounds of stitches you make. They are easy to make but I don't like the look as much as the first two (Handcrafter Scrubbie on the left; Sugar & Cream on the right).

Next, I decided to make a summer Spiderweb and filet top for myself, though I've had a problem with the gauge being right for adult garments, since I liked it and the yarn so much (Premier Cotton Fair yarn in Turquoise). It turned out great, and guess what -- it actually fits me (though I am still too self-conscious about my weight to have myself photographed in it).

Next, I felt like making a couple of baby layettes. I used Patons Astra for this one. It looks pink and gray in the photo, but the colors are actually called Country Lilac and Faded Denim.

This layette pattern is called Lemon Drops, but I used green instead of the yellow it was tured in. The yarn is one of my favorite brands, "Knit Picks Shine Sport" in Green Apple. I do plan to use this layette pattern again in the future.

As I have been posting here, I've been just about out of display space at home for any more fancy Barbies (and with this latest group, I AM out of room, waaahh...). I'd been planning to use this particular pattern for a long time. The pattern booklet is a representation of the wedding gown of Princess Diana and her bridesmaids. But I had decided to instead make Diana's gown in a very pale pink and eliminate the very long train (which I have no display room for). I knew she would still be beautiful. Here she is, along with her little sis (a 7-1/2" Stacie doll). I used Nazli Gelin "Garden Space" #10 thread from Herrschners. Though this thread works up very nicely, it tends to catch and separate more than my usual brands of premium crochet thread.

I was going to use the same pattern booklet to make a fancy pale pink gown for my Skipper doll. But since this gown was literally the same as Stacie's dress except for being a bit larger, I decided to do something different for her. This gown is from the "Easter Parade" pattern booklet by Annie's (but the flower basket is from the Princess Diana booklet). I used Opera #10 thread in Tapestry Rose and Parasol Pink.

This almost brings me to the present day! I'd bought a kit from Herrschners for a toddler's pullover sweater with a cable stitch front. The yarn is Red Heart's "Gumdrop" in Cherry. A few rows in, I decided the cables were a major hassle and that they didn't show up all that well anyway since the yarn is so colorful. So I made the entire top in double crochet. It's supposed to be a child's size 4 (and I crochet tightly), but it turned out big enough to fit a teen or small adult! Still cute though. (Because I didn't make the cables, I had some yarn left over. I bought one more skein so that I'd have enough for a baby jacket, which will be pictured here next time as it's not done yet.)

For the past few weeks, I've been working on a "Geometrics" table runner, using my discontinued Opera thread in "Summer Straw" (light gold). It's about 60% done now and will be about 48 x 18". More on that next time!